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resume the distortions that it originally went through during the initial drying. For this reason, many experienced woodworkers allow the wood to "settle" by begi!uling tlle stock-preparation process and tllen allowing tlle wood to stabilize in the shop environment for a few days to a month. The wood is cut to size, planed about board, which allow air to pass around tlle boards to ensure they reach equilibrium with tlle enviro!U11ent. After tlle boards have reached equilibrium, tlley are surfaced to final dimensions to remove any warp tllat occurred during the settling process. Ys Squaring the After both sides of the board have been surfaced to tllickness, the next step is to square one edge on the jointer. If the board is crooked and the edge is out of line by more than firs to saw the edge off before jointing. And if the edge is rough, you must cut it off. One way to do this is to nail a straightedge to tlle board and cut the piece on a bandsaw witll a rip fence. Alternatively, you can snap a chalkline on the board's surface and bandsaw close to tile line without a fence. If you don't have a bandsaw and the piece must be ripped on a tablesaw, use a jig like the one shown in the photo on p. 56. A rulmer that rides in the mitergauge slot is screwed onto the bottom of the plywood carrier board, and hold-downs secure tile workpiece. After tile edge is cut straight, it can be finished on the jointer. Before edge-jointing the boards, check that the jointer fence is squared witll the table by using an accurate square next to tile cutterhead. When jointing, it is important to keep pressure down against the table and inward against tile fence and to avoid passing your hands directly over the cutterhead. After you have edge-jointed tile first two boards, check them for square by laying them on a flat surface and putting tile jointed edges against each other. 14 Cu After surfacing bOtil sides of the board and jointing one edge, you're ready to rip the board to width. The first step is to Cyt the board on the tablesaw witll tile board's freshly jointed edge against the fence. However, the blade will leave sawmarks that must be removed before gluing or finishing, so when setting the distance between the rip fence and blade, add about ttin the edge on tile jointer later. If it takes more than a couple of passes on the jointer, tile board's edges may no longer be perfectly parallel to each other. On wide boards this discrepancy is so minor that it usually isn't a problem. However, on boards less tl1an 4 in. wide, such as cabinet face-frame members, it is advisable to make a final cleanup pass on tile sawn edges with a d1ickness planer, especially if you have a planer witll0ut bed rollers, which leaves a smootller surface on boards planed on edge. If you are finishing the edge of tile board witll tile planer, run Yl6 tllree or four pieces at a time. Hold tile group together as tlley are fed through the planer, as shown in the bottom photo, to prevent individual pieces from tipping. After jointing or planing, doublecheck to make sure that both edges are square using tile test described earlier. Anotller option for cutting a board to widtll is to rip tile board on the bandsaw and then finish tile edge with the planer. This approach is particularly desirable with short, narrow boards because it is much safer to rip this size board on the bandsaw tllaIl on the tablesaw. Cu When the board is surfaced on all four sides, the last step is to crosscut the two ends. The first cut establishes one square end, and the second cut is to the desired length. ttin Photos: AuLhor g to length in. for cleaning up Narrow boards can be run on edge through the planer to ensure that they are all the same width. Always run several boards at a time, and hold them tightly together. The tablesaw can be used for crosscutting with either a miter gauge or a sliding crosscut box. (For more information on crosscut boxes, see Kelly Mehler's article in radial-arm saw and miter saw are handy alternatives if you are crosscutting pieces longer than 48 in. If more than one board is cut to length, it is best to use a stop, which can be as simple as a piece of wood clamped to the miter gauge or the fence. If you use d1is kind of stop, it is a good idea to bevel the stop's bottom corner, or clamp the stop slightly above the saw table to keep sawdust from building up against the stop and affecting the length of cut. Some commercial stops are designed to flip out of the way when they are not in use. This design has tile advantage of instant repeatability if more pieces of a desired length are needed. FWW 0 Mark Duginske is a woodworker in Wausau, Wisc., and contributing editor to book, Mastering Woodworking Machines, to be publisbed in April by Tbe Taunton Press, 63 Conn. 06470-5506 FWW S. Main St., PO Box 5506, Newtown, January/February 1992 59 This article was adapted from bis !ortbcoming #89, pp. 72-75). A g to width t edge in., it is faster in. oversize, and tllen stacked with stickers between each Jointer push sticks also hold the board down on the table and should always be used when jointing short boards.